OMA Co-Founder Madelon Vriesendorp Wins the 2025 Soane Medal

Dutch-born artist Madelon Vriesendorp, one of the co-founders of the world-famous architecture office OMA, has been awarded the 2025 Soane Medal. With this honor, she becomes the first UK-based female artist to ever receive the medal since it was first introduced in 2017.

The Soane Medal, given each year by Sir John Soane’s Museum in London, recognizes people who have made an exceptional contribution to architecture and to helping the public understand its cultural importance.

Born in 1945 in the Netherlands, Vriesendorp studied art and developed a passion for painting imaginative and emotional scenes. In 1975, she helped establish the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) together with Rem Koolhaas, Elia Zenghelis, and Zoe Zenghelis. While Koolhaas became known for his radical ideas about cities and buildings, Vriesendorp became famous for her playful, dreamlike artworks that gave architecture a human side.

Her paintings often show buildings as if they had personalities or emotions, turning cold structures into living beings. One of her most iconic works, “Flagrant Delit,” shows the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building lying in bed together, surprised by the Statue of Liberty shining her torch on them. This surreal and humorous image became the cover for Koolhaas’s book Delirious New York (1978) and quickly turned into one of OMA’s most recognizable symbols. The artwork perfectly captured the spirit of the time—where architecture was seen not just as construction, but as storytelling, fantasy, and culture.

In the past two decades, Vriesendorp’s influence on architectural thinking has been rediscovered and celebrated. Exhibitions like “The World of Madelon Vriesendorp” (2008) at the Architectural Association in London and later at the Venice Biennale introduced her work to new generations of architects and artists. Through these shows, many realized how deeply her visual imagination shaped the identity and communication of OMA’s early projects.

The 2025 Soane Medal will be presented to Vriesendorp on November 18, 2025, during a ceremony at the Royal Academy in London. As part of the event, she will also give a public lecture to share her thoughts about art, architecture, and her long creative journey.

The judging panel, led by architect Amin Taha, selected Vriesendorp from an international list of nominees. With this recognition, she joins a distinguished group of past winners, including Hanif Kara, Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, Peter Barber, and Marina Tabassum—all celebrated figures who have changed the way architecture is practiced and understood around the world.

In summary, the award not only honors Vriesendorp’s remarkable career but also highlights the power of art and imagination in shaping architecture’s public story. Her unique way of connecting emotion, humor, and design continues to inspire architects and creatives everywhere.